Remarkable day as 24 wickets fall

Derbyshire's Graeme Welch and Durham's James Brinkley both improved their career-best figures for the second time this season as 24 wickets fell in the day at Chester-le-Street.

Both came on first change and Welch took six for 30 as Durham collapsed from 34 without loss to 125 all out, then Brinkley grabbed six for 14 as the visitors subsided from 48 for one to 95 all out.

Kevin Dean then bowled Martin Love first ball as Durham slipped to 11 for three in their second innings, but an unbeaten 43 from Martin Speight took them to 73 for four at the close, leading by 103.

Speight hit eight sparkling fours in making the highest score of the day off 49 balls.

His partner when bad light ended play with 7.4 overs left was Gary Scott, who became Durham's youngest first-class cricketer aged 17 years 19 days and was one of five batsmen to be caught at second slip in the first innings by Derbyshire's acting captain Michael Di Venuto.

Although the pitch had sweated under the covers during the first day's washout, the movement which so unsettled the batsmen was not so much off the wicket as through the air.

Love shouldered arms to Dean in the first innings and was bowled for the first time in 22 Championship innings.

After winning the toss for the first time in ten Championship matches, Jon Lewis must have wished he had chosen to field as he tried to hold the Durham innings together.

He had made 41 when he drove at the second ball after lunch and edged Welch to Di Venuto.

Durham were 108 for five at the break, but Lewis's exit started a procession which saw 18 wickets go down in 38 overs.